Protective carpet runner



1964 s. M. SMITH 3,158,893

PROTECTIVE CARPET RUNNER Filed July 15, 1963 INV EN TOR.

United States Patent "ice 3,158,893 PRGTECTIVE CARPET RUNNER Sara M. Smith, 6127 N. Kirkwood, Chicago, Ill. Filed July '15, 1963, Ser. No. 294,849 1 Claim. (Cl. 16-4) The present invention relates to carpet runners or hardwearing surface elements adapted to be placed over areas of carpets subjected to severe service, thereby to protect and preserve the carpet in localized areas and equalize the life and beauty of the entire carpet.

The product of this invention is a runner designed to protect carpeting and rugs not only from soil, which anything from a strip of plastic to an oriental rug will do, but from the wear and packing-down which is inevitable on heavily trafiicked areas of any carpet, whether it be of natural or synthetic fibers.

This protection against pressure is provided according to my invention by imbedding or molding a network of teeth into a sheet of strong, but preferably flexible material, sort of as a bed of nails, which is turned upside down. The teeth, which may vary in length depending upon the pile depth of the particular carpet, engage the floor surface beneath the carpet and constantly support the sheet of flexible material just above the top surface of the carpet, thus eliminating presure on the carpet from heavy trafiic which otherwise would eventually packdown and destroy the beauty of the carpet.

Also, the flexible surface material of the runner is preferably perforated, which would allow the carpet to breathanother important factor in prolonging life and beauty of all carpet fibers.

Variations as to size, color and surface texture are almost unlimited. Used alone, the runner could be made in colors to blend or contrast with carpeting colors. Also, it could be used as an underlay for a more decorative area rug effect. However, the top surface of the runner should be as thin as practically possible, and preferably tapered down on all sides to lessen the danger of tripping, a hazard with any type of runner.

In order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manners of making and using the carpet runner of my invention, I will now describe, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, a preferred embodiment of the runner and the preferred manners of making and using the same.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my carpet runner;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section of the runner in place over a carpet; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of one corner of the runner.

Referring to the drawing, the preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a unitary molded product formed of plastic or rubber and consisting essentially of a flexible surface sheet 10 and a plurality of closely spaced, substantially rigid, needle or nail-like teeth or projections 11 integral with and depending from the sheet 10. As shown particularly in FIGURE 2, the projections 11 are of a length equal approximately to the thickness of the carpet C and are preferably sufficiently sharp to pierce the carpet backing B so as to engage and be supported on the surface of the floor F on which the carpet, is laid.

3,l58,3 .Patented Dec. 1, 1964 Alternatively, the projections could have relatively blunt ends and rest directly on the backing B, but nevertheless would be of suificiently small diameter to project between the fibers of the carpet pile so as not to crush the pile.

Thus, the teeth or projections do not crush the carpet pile and serve to space and support the sheet 10 above the pile, preferably at the top surface level thereof, so that the sheet 10 cannot crush the pile. Consequently, the sheet 1% when laid over a heavily traflicked area of the carpet will protect the carpet not only from becoming soiled, but will also prevent wear and packing-down of the carpet pile. For these reasons, upon removal of the runner for a party or other occasion, the carpet will present a uniform color and condition over its entire area, so that its beauty and service life will be greatly prolonged.

The surface sheet 10 of the runner is preferably thin and uniformly perforated throughout its area, as indicated at 12 in the drawing. Consequently, the runner permits the carpet beneath it to breath, which is an essen tial factor in prolonging the life and beauty of the carpet. In short, the runner preserves the carpet in all respects Without creating problems or incurring disadvantages.

If the runner is molded in predetermined ready-to-use sizes, the edges of the same are preferably beveled or tapered, as illustrated in the drawing, thereby to define a feather edge mitigating the possibility of people tripping over the runner. However, the runner may also be made in substantially continuous length and cut to size by the retailer according to the particular requirements of the householder. In such case, the beveling is omitted as it would not be practical for the retailer to attempt to bevel or taper the edges of each piece cut by him from a bulk stock.

To facilitate the handling of the runner, whether formed in predetermined sizes or in bulk, and also to facilitate storage of the same by the householder when not in use, the runner of the invention is so fabricated as to be readily rollable, just as a carpet may be rolled. Specifically, the sheet 10 is highly flexible and the teeth or projections are so arrayed, preferably in parallel transverse rows, as to facilitate rolling of the runner into a compact and easily manipulated and stored roll.

As indicated in the introductory portion of this specification, the runner, or at least the sheet 10 thereof, may be molded in a variety of colors or color patterns, may be transparent, translucent or opaque, and may be provided with a surface texture to blend or contrast with the carpeting. If desired, a decorative surfacing material may be placed on or adhesively secured to the upper surface of the sheet 10, and in fact, a householder could himself apply a decorative surfacing material, even an Iclaim:

A protective carpet runner comprising a thin elongate perforate flexible sheet of a width alfording walking space for human beings and adapted to overlie an area of a carpet subject to substantial Wear so as to afford a protective walking surface over such area and thereby mitigate wear, and a plurality of closely spaced substantially rigid needle-like projections integralwith and depending from said sheet and engageable with the ,floor surface beneath the carpet for supporting said sheet above the floor adjacent the top level of the carpet to prevent crushing of the area of the carpet beneath said sheet, said projections being arrayed in parallel rows transversely of said sheet and said sheet being flexible to facilitate rolling of the runner for convenient handling upon removal from the carpet and when not in use.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 266,231 Warner 2 Oct. 17, 1882 10 2,288,470 Lorraine June 30, 1942 2,902,794 Ehrgott Sept, 8, 1959 2,919,514 King et a1. Jan. 5, 1960 

